When MaxiTRANS Western Australia’s Mike Dawson was approached recently to provide the best solution for carting vehicles across the country, he knew through experience that the dealership’s Freighter brand would provide the answer. Partnering with Freighter’s experienced team of engineers, Mike was able to supply his customer with designs for a B-double semi with permanent half-moon bridging decks between the tag and the lead trailers, resulting in an easy-to-use and time saving drive-through trailer combination.
WA-based Tri-State Transport sends an average of six road trains each week across Australia, fully loaded both ways. The company is so busy, that on the day it took delivery of its latest Freighter B-double set last month, the rig was immediately hooked up, loaded, and sent interstate with a load of mining and construction equipment and supplies. These new Freighters join a large fleet of equipment that has been bought with performance considerations well ahead of price.
“We make sure that we order the most reliable equipment for each job,” said Tri-State’s Troy Day. “We negotiate for our new equipment of course, but price comes after quality and service back-up on the scale of priorities. The last thing we want is for our drivers to be broken-down in the middle of the Western Australian desert due to a piece of faulty equipment. Freighter’s excellent service record was one of the major reasons why we went with them for these trailers.”
Tri-State’s truck fleet is a mixture, each bought for specific tasks. “Every piece of gear is bought based on both requirement and value, which includes thinking about reliability and efficiency at least as much as the purchase price,” Troy added.
Tri-State owner Andrew Scott spoke to MaxiTRANS WA Northern Region Sales Manager Mike Dawson after he and his team had decided exactly what they required in their new trailer set. The rig would be carting a number of different vehicles for the mining sector, so the company needed a B-double set with a drive-through capability. They knew they needed to speak to a trailer salesperson with the experience and background to make it happen. Andrew’s previous experience of dealing with both MaxiTRANS and Mike told him that he was the man for the job.
Mike took careful note of all the requirements and supplied drawings to Tri-State for the B-double. They also settled on specific components to suit the task before the build started. The final design had bi-fold hydraulic ramps on the back, retractable ramps between the drop-deck sections on the tag trailer and Freighter’s purpose-designed half-moon bridging decks between the tag and the lead trailer. This gave Tri-State the complete drive-through capability they were looking for, meaning they would never have to unhitch the trailers to load them.
“This rig wasn’t bought as a lead and B-trailer – it will always operate as a single unit,” said Mike. “The ability to drive a vehicle up the ramps, onto the tag, and then all the way to the lead trailer makes these trailers a ‘built-for-life’ pairing and will save Tri-State a great deal of time when they are loading vehicles onto them.”
When it comes to trailers Tri-State’s choice of Freighter underlines the emphasis placed on quality and the “built-for-purpose” approach of Freighter’s engineering and production systems. Working closely with Mike Dawson made sure that Tri-State’s latest was tailored for the exact requirements of the job and an extended service life in constant use.
“An outstanding reliability record and excellent parts and service availability were very good reasons to stay with the group and buy Freighter,” said Andrew.
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